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Google Adds New Controls for Search Personalization, History, and More.

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Google
News

Google Adds New Controls for Search Personalization, History, and More.

Google Adds New Controls for Search Personalization, History, and More.

Google seems to be on a revamp spree. Just recently, it introduced updated icons for its Google apps section on Chrome while discussing new workspace icon designs.

But the changes aren’t just aesthetic- or all about the ‘vibe.’

The tech powerhouse is also rolling out new features that directly impact users’ search behavior. It can be said to be a ripple effect of all the structural changes it has been making, especially to cement itself as a pioneer of AI-led search, if we want to be specific.

The first step was doubling down on AI-powered search, and the second was introducing AI Mode. Users ask questions ‘naturally’ and let AI do the heavy lifting. The goal is to deepen research while decreasing response times. Because who has the time to actually ‘look for’ answers any longer?

That happened merely a week ago.

Now that Google has set the stage, it’s diving deeper into the internal restructuring. The revamp is more about controls and transparency.

Users could previously access their recent and past activities under the ‘Web & App’ activity section, while handling customized recommendations within ‘Search Personalization.’ But that’s no longer the case.

To grant users more control, it’s creating separate, independent controls-

First, the “Search Services History” will determine whether (and if) Google can store user activity across apps and services. That includes search queries across Flights, Maps, Translate, News, and AI-powered responses.

There’s another sub-setting included: Saved Media.

Users will be able to enable (and disable) the setting depending on whether they want Google to save all their media files from videos and audios to images included across their Google Lens sessions, voice searches, and Search Live. If users choose to retain their media, they’ll additionally have the option to remove saved media files from the history section.

Second, “Personalized Recommendations” that will enable (or disable) whether Google can leverage a user’s activity and history to tailor suggestions and search results.

These changes actively target the ongoing discussions surrounding user consent and data privacy. All the while promoting interactive AI features that have little to do with appearance and more to do with how businesses have become more sensitive towards user privacy.

Users want personalization. They want access to their past activity. But not at the cost of their personal space.

And that’s what Google is conquering: the gap between what’s promised and how it’s delivered.

NVIDIA
News

NVIDIA Invests in Taiwan, Citing It as the ‘Epicenter’ of AI Revolution

NVIDIA Invests in Taiwan, Citing It as the ‘Epicenter’ of AI Revolution

NVIDIA’s CEO calls Taiwan the heart of the AI revolution. Behind the statement is a massive shift in tech power.

The AI conversation usually lands in familiar places: Silicon Valley, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft.

Jensen Huang wants to redirect the attention.

The NVIDIA CEO said this week that Taiwan is the “epicentre” of the AI revolution and predicted the island will remain one of the world’s most significant tech manufacturing hubs for decades to come. He made the remarks while unveiling NVIDIA’s planned Taiwan headquarters, which is expected to break ground this year and become operational by 2030.

On the surface, it sounds like a ‘smart’ corporate move during a launch event. But Huang’s argument for choosing Taiwan is difficult to dismiss.

Nearly every major AI breakthrough eventually runs into one unavoidable requirement: chips. And Taiwan plays a critical role in making those chips- especially through manufacturers like TSMC. NVIDIA itself reportedly plans to increase annual spending in Taiwan to around $150 billion, a massive jump from previous years.

That says something important about where AI truly power sits. And also challenges Silicon Valley’s foothold as the nucleus of AI advancement.

Consumers see chatbots, AI search, and image generators. Behind all of that is a supply chain built on factories, advanced packaging, semiconductors, and infrastructure. A surprising amount of it connects back to Taiwan. That’s where Taiwan beats Silicon Valley by a whole lot.

And the timing also matters.

Taiwan occupies a sensitive position as tensions between China and the West continue to rise. A strategy is no longer a regular investment announcement when one of the world’s most valuable companies commits a figure like $150 billion. It’s a long-term bet.

Huang is a Taiwan-born and often speaks about the island’s importance for tech innovation. But the message cut deeper this time: AI may look like software on the surface, but it remains deeply tied to physical manufacturing.

The AI race is often framed as a competition over intelligence.

Increasingly, it looks like a competition over who builds the world that powers that intelligence.

Microsoft
News

Microsoft Cancels Claude Licenses: Is AI Not the Answer?

Microsoft Cancels Claude Licenses: Is AI Not the Answer?

Microsoft is, by reports, canceling Claude Code licenses across its most prominent divisions. Is this to promote GitHub Co-Pilot or the signaling of a deeper problem?

Microsoft has decided to end the Claude Code licenses inside its experiences and devices group, a.k.a the teams behind Windows, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, and Surface.

For Anthropic, this has to be nothing but bad news. Microsoft, which has been heavily investing in OpenAI and other AI tools, has always been optimistic about the tech. Trying this new thing out in their divisions could be part of a larger experiment to see what is working.

But we suspect there is something bigger here at play. The cost of running an AI system is not efficient, as these tools are developing into smarter versions of themselves- they are becoming more and more energy inefficient.

The tokens that companies use cost a lot of money because they require a lot of money. And the usage is drying up.

Claude’s usage windows have been reducing at a steady pace, sometimes getting over in one or two prompts or actions.

Uber, as every outlet has reported, has faced similar problems. The token budget Uber thought it needed was blown away in just 4 months. Of course, programming or doing any real work is complex. It requires experience, and thinking, and clearly thinking does not come cheap, even when organizations think it does.

Computing, thinking, and intelligence, and the ability to synthesize information, are a scarce resource. And AI might find it difficult to replicate it across multiple instances. It can do certain tasks very well, but it needs many tokens to do it.

That is difficult en masse.

However, this raises a question: where is AI heading, not in terms of if it will get better or more intelligent, but rather, how much energy would it need?

AI data centers cannot be called efficient. They are guzzling energy, and with everyone using it, that rate may be exponential. Every hard problem, every doc generated, every code written, every long-chain task it performs, the tech eats energy on a large scale.

The hard problem here isn’t managing costs, but scaling down energy costs. The question is how? We are currently using the LLMs and agents to solve problems by making them amazing at guessing what comes next, and that guesswork is draining every compute token dry.

It’s time we move beyond discussing alternatives and put research into finding them. Or this might end up as a cost that cannot be recovered.

Google's
News

Google’s Full-Stack Offering Transforms Your Google Home into a Trusted Housemate

Google’s Full-Stack Offering Transforms Your Google Home into a Trusted Housemate

Google is turning Home into an AI platform. The goal is simple: fewer commands, more understanding.

Tech companies have had their fair share of promises- one of the most incessant ones is the convenience of smart homes. But the reality says something different. You ask a speaker to turn off the lights, set a timer, or play music. Sometimes it works instantly. Sometimes you repeat yourself twice and wonder why your “smart” Home feels surprisingly unintelligent.

Google thinks the problem isn’t the hardware. It’s the way we interact with it.

The company is pushing Google Home toward becoming a more AI-driven platform, where devices don’t just respond to commands but understand context and handle requests more naturally. The bigger idea is to make AI feel less like something separate and more like the interface connecting everything in your Home.

That shift sounds subtle, but it changes the role of smart homes entirely.

Instead of learning specific commands or building complicated routines, Google imagines users speaking normally with the AI and receiving useful answers in return. You could ask whether a package was delivered, search camera footage with everyday language, or manage devices without navigating multiple apps. The technology starts moving away from automation and toward assistance.

What Google is really doing here mirrors a broader strategy across its products. Search is becoming conversational. Android is getting deeper AI integration. Gmail summarizes. Gemini acts more like an assistant. Google Home is the latest piece being folded into that ecosystem.

The company appears to be betting that people don’t want more apps or settings. They want technology that understands intent.

There are obvious questions underneath all of this.

A smarter home equals more data about routines, habits, and everyday behavior. And as AI features become more advanced, many may eventually lag behind subscriptions or premium services.

Still, the direction feels clear.

The smart home industry spent years competing over devices. Better cameras. Better speakers. Better sensors. Google seems to believe the next competition won’t be about hardware at all.

It will be about which company builds a home that feels easiest to live in.

Because if AI works the way companies promise, the future smart Home may stop feeling like a collection of gadgets and start feeling more like an environment that quietly understands you.

Firefox
News

Firefox is Getting a Major Redesign, and Some AI Controls

Firefox is Getting a Major Redesign, and Some AI Controls

Firefox is redesigning its browser with easier AI and privacy controls. That says a lot about where browsers are headed.

Browser redesigns usually focus on aesthetics. New tabs. Rounded corners. Slightly different icons that people complain about for two weeks before forgetting.

Mozilla’s upcoming Firefox redesign, called Project Nova, does include those changes. But the more interesting update is buried in the settings menu. Firefox wants to make privacy controls and AI settings navigable, including a switch to disable all current and future AI features.

That detail stands out because most tech companies are moving in the opposite direction.

AI is increasingly becoming the default. It shows up in search bars, email apps, browsers, and operating systems, often with limited control over how much users actually want. Firefox seems to be betting that giving people clearer choices could become a competitive advantage.

The redesign itself is significant. Project Nova is Firefox’s biggest visual overhaul in years- rounded tabs, updated colors, more customization options, and easier access to features like split view and vertical tabs. Compact mode is also returning after users pushed back against previous changes.

But underneath the design refresh hides another challenge.

Firefox has been losing ground to browsers built on Chromium- the technology behind Chrome and other competitors. Standing out is difficult when many browsers increasingly feel similar. Mozilla appears to be responding with a mix of customization, privacy, and user control.

There’s something unusual about that strategy right now.

Most companies are trying to convince users that more AI is automatically better. Firefox is effectively saying: use AI if you want, but we’ll make it easier to avoid it too.

Whether that attracts users is another question.

Convenience often wins in technology. Defaults win even more.

Still, Project Nova suggests Mozilla sees an opening. If people become exhausted by software deciding things for them, a browser built around control instead of automation might feel surprisingly different.

Not because it has less AI.

Because it allows users to choose how much AI belongs in their browser.

NVIDIA
News

NVIDIA Keeps Breaking Records. At What Point Does AI Growth Stop Looking Surprising?

NVIDIA Keeps Breaking Records. At What Point Does AI Growth Stop Looking Surprising?

NVIDIA’s AI revenue surged again. The strange part? Numbers this massive are starting to feel expected.

NVIDIA reported another blockbuster quarter this week. And the biggest takeaway may be that people are no longer shocked by numbers like these.

The company published $81.6 billion in revenue for Q1 fiscal 2027- up by 85% from a year earlier. Its data center business grew 92% to reach over $75.2 billion.

These figures would have dominated headlines for months, a couple of years ago. But now they almost feel expected.

That says something significant about where AI is today.

The conversation around AI often revolves around products people directly use- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and AI search. NVIDIA’s results are a reminder of the enormous demand that is hidden under all these tools. Someone has to build and power the systems behind it before AI can answer questions or generate images.

NVIDIA remains one of the companies benefiting most from that demand.

Its chips have become so central to AI development that nearly every major tech company relies on them in some form. That puts NVIDIA in an unusual position. Most technology companies fight for users. NVIDIA profits from everyone else fighting for users.

The company also forecast $91 billion in revenue for the succeeding quarter, suggesting executives believe spending on AI infrastructure still has room to grow.

There are obvious reasons to be cautious. China’s restrictions continue to obstruct growth, while Google and Amazon are investing in their own chips to reduce reliance on NVIDIA.

But that future feels distant compared with the present reality.

For now, the AI boom is still translating into extraordinary spending, and NVIDIA is sitting near the center of it. The strange thing is no longer the company’s growth.

It’s how quickly the industry has accepted growth at this scale as business as usual.